Labour Force Survey, March 2025
Released: 2025-04-04
Highlights
Employment fell by 33,000 (-0.2%) in March and the employment rate declined 0.2 percentage points to 60.9%. The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.7%.
In March, employment declined among men aged 55 years and older (-21,000; -0.9%) while there was little change for other major demographic groups.
Employment declined in wholesale and retail trade (-29,000; -1.0%), as well as information, culture and recreation (-20,000; -2.4%). There were increases in the 'other services', such as personal and repair services (+12,000; +1.5%) and utilities (+4,200; +2.8%).
Employment fell in Ontario (-28,000; -0.3%) and Alberta (-15,000; -0.6%), while it increased in Saskatchewan (+6,600; +1.1%). Employment was little changed in the other provinces in March.
Total hours worked rose 0.4% in March, following a decline of 1.3% in February. On a year-over-year basis, total hours worked were up 1.2%.
Average hourly wages among employees were up 3.6% (+$1.24 to $36.05) on a year-over-year basis in March, following growth of 3.8% in February (not seasonally adjusted).
Employment falls in March
Employment decreased by 33,000 (-0.2%) in March, the first decrease since January 2022. The decline in March followed little change in February and three consecutive months of growth in November, December and January totalling 211,000 (+1.0%).
The employment decline in March was driven by a drop in full-time work (-62,000; -0.4%). Full-time employment had followed a strong upward trend in the second half of 2024 and had held steady in January and February 2025.
The employment rate—the proportion of the population aged 15 and older who are employed—fell 0.2 percentage points to 60.9% in March. This partially offset an increase of 0.3 percentage points that had been observed from October 2024 to January 2025.
Chart 1
Employment rate falls in March
Private sector employment fell by 48,000 (-0.3%) in March, following little change in February and a cumulative increase of 97,000 (+0.7%) from November 2024 to January 2025. On a year-over-year basis, the number of employees in the private sector was up by 175,000 (+1.3%).
Public sector employment was little changed for a third consecutive month in March and was up 92,000 (+2.1%) compared with a year earlier. Self-employment was also little changed in March and was up 81,000 (+3.0%) on a year-over-year basis.
Employment declines among men aged 55 and older
Employment fell by 21,000 (-0.9%) among men aged 55 years and older in March, bringing the cumulative decline for this group since the beginning of the year to 47,000 (-1.9%). The employment rate for men aged 55 and older fell 0.4 percentage points to 38.8% in March, the third consecutive monthly decline. Among women aged 55 and older, the employment level and the employment rate were both little changed in March.
Infographic 1
Employment rate by age group, March 2025
Among core-aged men (25 to 54 years old), employment edged down (-16,000; -0.2%) in March and the employment rate fell 0.4 percentage points to 86.3%. Employment held steady in March among core-aged women, and the employment rate for this group was little changed at 80.5%.
In March, employment was little changed for youth (aged 15 to 24). On a year-over-year basis, the employment rate was down for both young women (-1.3 percentage points to 54.6%) and young men (-1.0 percentage points to 53.4%).
Unemployment rate rises to 6.7%
The unemployment rate rose 0.1 percentage points to 6.7% in March, the first increase since November 2024. The unemployment rate had trended up from 5.0% in March 2023 to a recent high of 6.9% in November 2024, before falling by 0.3 percentage points from November 2024 to January 2025, in the context of robust employment growth at the end of 2024 and in early 2025.
Chart 2
Unemployment rate increases to 6.7% in March
Infographic 2
Unemployment rate by age group, March 2025
Since March 2024, the unemployment rate has remained above its pre-COVID-19 pandemic average of 6.0% (from 2017 to 2019).
In March 2025, the unemployment rate rose among women aged 15 to 24 (+1.4 percentage points to 13.1%), as more young women looked for work. The unemployment rate was little changed across other major demographic groups.
Unemployed people face more difficulties finding work in March compared with a year earlier
In total, there were 1.5 million unemployed people in March, up 36,000 (+2.5%) in the month and up 167,000 (+12.4%) on a year-over-year basis.
Among those who were unemployed in February, 14.7% became employed in March. This was lower than the corresponding proportion in March 2024 (18.6%) (not seasonally adjusted).
Long-term unemployment has also risen; the proportion of unemployed people searching for work for 27 weeks or more stood at 23.7% in March 2025, up from 18.3% in March 2024.
People may become unemployed following a job loss, or after voluntarily leaving a job. Others may not have worked recently, either because they are new entrants to the labour market, or because they have been without a job for a longer period.
Among the 1.5 million people who were unemployed in March, the largest share (44.1%) had lost their job due to a lay-off within the previous 12 months (down from 47.0% in March 2024) (not seasonally adjusted). Of these unemployed people, 18.4% last worked in construction, while 12.4% last worked in wholesale or retail trade. The proportion of the unemployed who last worked in manufacturing (9.3%) was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
Another 41.5% of unemployed people in March had not worked in the previous 12 months (or had never worked). This proportion was up from 35.4% in March 2024. People in this group may be more vulnerable to variations in labour market conditions and are generally not eligible to receive regular Employment Insurance benefits.
A further 14.3% of those who were unemployed in March had voluntarily left their previous job, down from 17.6% in March 2024. Reasons for leaving a job and searching for a new one may include dissatisfaction, going to school, or caring for family members.
Layoff rates and changing economic conditions
During periods of economic downturns, workers may become more likely to be laid off, which can increase the overall unemployment rate. For example, during the 2008/2009 recession, the monthly layoff rate—the proportion of the employed population in a given month who were unemployed the following month due to a layoff—peaked at 2.0% in January 2009 (not seasonally adjusted). This was up from the average rate of 1.0% recorded in 2007. The unemployment rate in Canada rose from 6.2% in August 2008 to a peak of 8.8% in June and July 2009.
Among those who were employed in February 2025, 0.7% had become unemployed in March 2025 as a result of a layoff (not seasonally adjusted). This proportion was little changed from the same period in 2024 (0.8%) and the same as the pre-pandemic February-to-March average recorded from 2017 to 2019 (0.7%).
Over the coming months, Statistics Canada will continue to monitor and report on a range of labour market indicators to shed light on how Canada's labour market is evolving in the context of uncertain economic conditions.
Fewer people employed in wholesale and retail trade and information, culture and recreation
Employment fell by 29,000 (-1.0%) in wholesale and retail trade in March, partly offsetting an increase of 51,000 in February. On a year-over-year basis, the number of people working in wholesale and retail trade was little changed in March.
Chart 3
Employment declines led by wholesale and retail trade in March
Following five months of little change, employment decreased by 20,000 (-2.4%) in information, culture and recreation in March. Despite the decline, employment in this industry was little changed on a year-over-year basis.
In March, employment also fell in agriculture (-9,300; -3.9%), while there were gains in "other services" (such as personal and repair services) (+12,000; +1.5%) and in utilities (+4,200; +2.8%).
Employment declines in Ontario and Alberta, while Saskatchewan posts an increase
Employment in Ontario decreased by 28,000 (-0.3%) in March, the first significant decline in the province since December 2023. Employment losses were concentrated in information, culture and recreation (-23,000: -6.2%) and in business, building and other support services (-13,000; -4.2%). The unemployment rate in Ontario increased 0.2 percentage points to 7.5% in March.
In Alberta, employment fell by 15,000 (-0.6%), following two months of little change and a cumulative increase of 54,000 (+2.1%) in November and December 2024. The employment decline in the province was concentrated in manufacturing (-11,000; -7.5%) and wholesale and retail trade (-9,200; -2.5%). The unemployment rate in Alberta increased by 0.4 percentage points in March to 7.1%.
Map 1
Unemployment rate by province and territory, March 2025
In Saskatchewan, employment rose by 6,600 (+1.1%), the second increase in four months. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up by 19,000 (+3.1%). The unemployment rate fell 0.5 percentage points to 4.9% in March, and remained the lowest among all provinces.
In Quebec, employment held steady for the fourth consecutive month, while the unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points to 5.7%, as more people searched for work. On a year-over-year basis, employment in the province was up by 88,000 (+1.9%) in March, with gains concentrated in the second half of 2024.
In the spotlight: Employment rate rises in the Northwest Territories on a year-over-year basis
According to the most recent official population estimates, the three territories were home to 133,600 people in the first quarter of 2025, up 1.8% from the same quarter in 2024. This total includes 47,100 people living in Yukon, 45,100 living in the Northwest Territories and 41,400 living in Nunavut.
In both the Northwest Territories and Yukon, employment rates remained above the national average in March. The employment rate in the Northwest Territories rose 2.1 percentage points to 68.1% in the 12 months to March 2025, partially offsetting a decline in the preceding year (from March 2023 to March 2024). In Yukon, the employment rate in March 2025 (71.8%) was little changed from a year earlier (not seasonally adjusted, three-month moving averages).
In Nunavut, the employment rate was 53.6% in March and was little changed from the same month in 2024. According to the 2021 Census of Population, Inuit represent 84% of the population of Nunavut. The employment rate for Inuit in Nunavut was 45.0% in March, little changed from a year earlier, and close to half the corresponding rate for the non-Indigenous population (86.5%) in the territory.
In the spotlight: Most self-employed workers not covered by health, dental, and disability insurance
Self-employed workers make unique contributions to the economy and society, and typically have more autonomy and control over their schedule and work activities. However, self-employed workers tend to experience more financial risks than employees and may be more vulnerable to changing economic conditions. Moreover, self-employed workers do not have access to dental, medical or disability benefits from an employer.
After recording virtually no growth in 2022 and 2023, self-employment has grown in the second half of 2024 and in early 2025. In March 2025, there were 2.7 million self-employed workers in Canada, up 81,000 (+3.0%) from the same month in 2024. Despite this increase, the proportion of all workers who were self-employed (13.1%) was below its pre-pandemic average of 14.9% recorded from 2017 to 2019.
In March, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) asked self-employed workers if they were covered by different types of private insurance plans, excluding coverage by provincial or other government insurance. Among self-employed workers aged 15 to 69, 43.3% were covered by a supplementary health care plan, while 36.4% were covered by a dental plan, and 25.3% by disability insurance (not seasonally adjusted).
Chart 4
Incorporated self-employed workers with employees more likely to be covered by private insurance in March
In comparison, 67.3% of employees had access to either a supplementary health care plan or a dental plan and 57.1% had access to disability insurance through an employer.
Self-employed workers with larger and more established businesses were more likely to be covered by all three forms of insurance. For example, half (49.8%) of incorporated self-employed workers with employees had a supplementary health care plan, compared with 39.5% of unincorporated self-employed workers without employees.
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Sustainable Development Goals
On January 1, 2016, the world officially began implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the United Nations' transformative plan of action that addresses urgent global challenges over the next 15 years. The plan is based on 17 specific sustainable development goals.
The Labour Force Survey is an example of how Statistics Canada supports the reporting on the Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This release will be used in helping to measure the following goals:
Note to readers
The Labour Force Survey (LFS) estimates for March are for the week of March 9 to 15, 2025.
The LFS estimates are based on a sample and are therefore subject to sampling variability. As a result, monthly estimates will show more variability than trends observed over longer time periods. For more information, see "Interpreting Monthly Changes in Employment from the Labour Force Survey."
This analysis focuses on differences between estimates that are statistically significant at the 68% confidence level.
LFS estimates at the Canada level do not include the territories.
The LFS estimates are the first in a series of labour market indicators released by Statistics Canada, which includes indicators from programs such as the Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH); Employment Insurance Statistics; and the Job Vacancy and Wage Survey. For more information on the conceptual differences between employment measures from the LFS and those from the SEPH, refer to section 8 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
Face-to-face personal interviewing resumed in November 2022. Telephone interviews continued to be conducted by interviewers working mainly from their homes rather than Statistics Canada's call centres, as they have since March 2020. About 50,000 interviews were completed in March 2025 and in-depth data quality evaluations conducted each month confirm that the LFS continues to produce an accurate portrait of Canada's labour market.
The employment rate is the number of employed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older. The rate for a particular group (for example, youths aged 15 to 24) is the number employed in that group as a percentage of the population for that group.
The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force (employed and unemployed).
The participation rate is the number of employed and unemployed people as a percentage of the population aged 15 and older.
Full-time employment consists of persons who usually work 30 hours or more per week at their main or only job.
Part-time employment consists of persons who usually work less than 30 hours per week at their main or only job.
Total hours worked refers to the number of hours actually worked at the main job by the respondent during the reference week, including paid and unpaid hours. These hours reflect temporary decreases or increases in work hours (for example, hours lost due to illness, vacation, holidays or weather; or more hours worked due to overtime).
In general, month-to-month or year-to-year changes in the number of people employed in an age group reflect the net effect of two factors: (1) the number of people who changed employment status between reference periods, and (2) the number of employed people who entered or left the age group (including through aging, death or migration) between reference periods.
Seasonal adjustment
Unless otherwise stated, this release presents seasonally adjusted estimates, which facilitate comparisons by removing the effects of seasonal variations. For more information on seasonal adjustment, see Seasonally adjusted data – Frequently asked questions.
Population growth in the Labour Force Survey
The LFS target population includes all persons aged 15 years and older whose usual place of residence is in Canada, with the exception of those living on reserves, full-time members of the regular Armed Forces and persons living in institutions (including inmates of penal institutions and patients in hospitals and nursing homes).
The LFS target population includes temporary residents—that is, those with a valid work or study permit, their families, and refugee claimants—as well as permanent residents (landed immigrants) and the Canadian-born.
Information gathered from LFS respondents is weighted to represent the survey target population using population calibration totals. These totals are updated each month, using the most recently available information on population changes, including changes in the number of non-permanent residents. LFS population calibration totals are derived from Canada's official population estimates using similar sources and methods, with minor adjustments being made to reflect exclusions from the LFS target population.
While the LFS population totals are generally aligned with official demographic estimates, numbers from the two sources should be compared with caution, given the different goals of the programs and because of a number of methodological differences reflecting the objectives of the LFS. Official demographic estimates should be considered the official measure of population change in Canada. More information on how population totals in the LFS are calculated can be found in the article "Interpreting population totals from the Labour Force Survey."
Regional unemployment rates used by the Employment Insurance program
As a result of a temporary measure in effect from April 6, 2025, to July 12, 2025, the unemployment rates are adjusted by one percentage point (to a maximum of 13.1%) in all Employment Insurance economic regions, ensuring that no region has an unemployment rate less than 7.1%. Regions with an unemployment rate of 13.1% or higher keep their actual rate. For more information, see Temporary Employment Insurance measures to respond to major changes in economic conditions.
Upcoming changes to the Labour Force Survey in April 2025
Every 10 years, the LFS sample is redesigned to reflect changes in population characteristics and updated geographical boundaries. The updated sample design—based on the 2021 Census population characteristics and the 2021 Standard Geographical Classification—will be phased in from April to September 2025. For more information, see Section 4 of the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
Next release
The next release of the LFS will be on May 9. April data will reflect labour market conditions during the week of April 13 to 19.
Products
More information about the concepts and use of the Labour Force Survey is available online in the Guide to the Labour Force Survey (71-543-G).
The product "Labour Force Survey in brief: Interactive app" (14200001) is also available. This interactive visualization application provides seasonally adjusted estimates by province, sex, age group and industry.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province and census metropolitan area, seasonally adjusted" (71-607-X) is also available. This interactive dashboard provides customizable access to key labour market indicators.
The product "Labour Market Indicators, by province, territory and economic region, unadjusted for seasonality" (71-607-X) is also available. This dynamic web application provides access to labour market indicators for Canada, provinces, territories and economic regions.
The product "Labour market indicators, census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and self-contained labour areas: Interactive dashboard" (71-607-X) is also available. This dashboard allows users to visually explore the estimates using an interactive map as well as time series charts and tables.
The product Labour Force Survey: Public Use Microdata File (71M0001X) is also available. This public use microdata file contains non-aggregated data for a wide variety of variables collected from the Labour Force Survey. The data have been modified to ensure that no individual or business is directly or indirectly identified. This product is for users who prefer to do their own analysis by focusing on specific subgroups in the population or by cross-classifying variables that are not in our catalogued products.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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